Hey guys,
I'm currently writing up a methodology chapter and I feel I'm becoming a bit repetitive in my paragraph structures. Does anyone know any ways to structure complex points beyond the "First,....." "Second,..." etc

Also, any other tips people can think of for writing would be great.

Thanks :-)

======= Date Modified 29 Sep 2011 08:04:26 =======
Hi Slizor,

Here are some tips from my side:

1. Try structuring your chapter using headings first and then write(or move material if already written) under the headings.
2. First put all the material together. Next, re-structure it so each para gives one idea and follows well from the previous one. And finally edit/proof read it all.
3. Don't worry too much about repetitions at the start of the writing. Once you are done with it, there will be many many more iterations till you are "really" done i.e. it is perfected.
4. If you worry too much about writing perfectly at start, it might end up becoming a block while you try to perfect it. And then at the end, you might still realize (as I always have), that it still needs to be massively edited/trimmed.

Hope these help

Cheers

One tip from Garner's Legal Writing in Plain English (paraphrased from my memory):
If they are short paragraphs, consider setting some of them up as numbered bullet lists. It gives more white space and solves the problem of First, Second, etc.
Consider getting this book from your library or even buying it if you think you will be writing a lot. It has some really good ideas for how to change things around. And no, I have nothing to do with law. You just have to figure out the generic information that you can transfer into your writing style(s).

Hi Slizor,

I have been pretty much writing like what Mak_2011 has said (Good advice, Mak_2011). I wrote down the title of the chapters, sections, subsections. I have four main chapters for now (I might split one of the chapters into two later on) with almost equal number of words. I take one or two sections at a time and write 500-700 words. Before writing, I note down points of what I want to include and also read relevant literature to be included in that particular section and the put them away and write from what is in my head with the help of the points (to avoid plagiarism). My methodology chapter is very broad with techniques from various published articles, so some times when I write I tend to write certain sentences/phrases which I read from the papers (they just stay in my brain for a while). This is really a rough draft so am not thinking too much about perfection as I will go through and edit everything later on.

As Mak_2011 said, do not worry much about repetition, lack of perfect structure - you can always go back and sculpt later. Good luck (up)

======= Date Modified 30 Sep 2011 13:59:13 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
Thank you for all the great ideas you have shared in this site, I really appreciate it.This will be very helpful to a lot of students who love to write and guide them the proper way of writing.

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Some really good ideas here. I didn't really do any of these things, I just sat and wrote! Might have taken less time if I'd done it in a more structured way!

I have one method bit that was quite listy so I wrote it as numbered bullet points. I also had a flow chart in my main methods section which showed the overall path followed by my participants.